rockin the daisies

Friday was a big day. Not only were Trevor and I going to get off early from work, but we were also going to leave Kimberley and head to the Western Cape for one of South Africa's biggest musical festivals: Rocking the Daisies. 

Trevor and I were pumped! One o'clock rolled around, we confirmed with Thuso and Mandla that there was nothing else we had to do and then happily fled the office. Just as we were ready to leave however, we got a phone call... We had to go bring supplies to one of the schools that our coaches were working in. Just another typical day as an intern in Kimberley! After two-and-a-half hours of running around and helping coaches, we finally got to hit the open road. 

We had a 956-kilometer drive to Cape Town and I loved every kilometer of it. South Africa is a lot like the United States in that you can drive from coast to coast and pass through mountainous regions, farm country, and dry arid deserts. I loved watching the countryside transform from the flat savannah that surrounds Kimberley to rolling grassy hills and then open up into beautiful wine country. The views were absolutely breath-taking. 

Sunset in the middle of no where.

Driving on South African highways was a cool experience as well. All of the highways are in very good condition (they were redone prior to the 2010 World Cup) and we didn't hit traffic once during our drive. What was most interesting about driving on the highways over here was that they are all just one-lane roads. When we wanted to pass someone, we pulled into the lane for oncoming traffic and passed. This was particularly fun to do after the sun set because in the dark it was hard to judge how far away oncoming headlights were. So sometimes I'd pull into the oncoming lane, be right next to the car we were passing and then realize, "oh, crud... that car is 50 meters away." Both Trevor and I made some sweet driving maneuvers that night. We arrived at the festival at 1h30 in the morning, met up with the interns from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and got to it!

One of the live performances. 

The weekend was a blast! In some ways the festival was similar to Lake of Stars (which I went to last weekend). We set up tents (sort of - some of my companions were not as adept at pitching tents as I am) and camped under the stars. We took in the surrounding beauty. We swam in the dam. And we all enjoyed just catching up and each other's company. 

Our campsite... See the green and white tent in the back? The one that's
actually erect? That's mine. See everything else...? That's Cape Town...

The scene at Rocking the Daisies. Beautiful!

As always, it was great to spend some quality (and partying) time with other Americans. This was also the first time I had gotten to see the crew from Port Elizabeth. It was very entertaining to hear all about their living situation, their friends and their office, which is apparently "a sexual harassment case waiting to happen." 

The gang. 

It was also a lot different from Lake of Stars. For one, there were way more white people! Seriously, I haven't seen this many white people since leaving the States. The music too was a lot different. A lot of it bore resemblance to American Pop and Rock. And there were even some bands playing at this festival that I recognized - like Vampire Weekend! That's right - I got to see Vampire Weekend perform in South Africa! 

Me. Having fun. Ya know. 

My favorite performances were those that did not sound American. Some groups incorporated the use of traditionally African musical instruments and rhythms. One such group, Hot Water (check them out on itunes - I would recommend Wamkelekile), were one of the best performances that I saw. 

All too soon the weekend came to an end. Trevor and I had another 10-hour ride back to Kimberley, which was just as beautiful as the drive on Friday. It was a fantastic weekend and I can't wait to visit Cape Town again, but I'm definitely ready for some rest and relaxation. We'll see if I get any of that this week...